Australians held for plotting kidnap

Three men, including two Australians, have been arrested for allegedly plotting to kidnap a youth for ransom, police said today.

Three men, including two Australians, have been arrested for allegedly plotting to kidnap a youth for ransom, police said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Grant Alen Austin and Symond Gimpy, both Australians in the age group of 40 to 45, and Gulsher Singh, a resident of Ropar in Punjab, IG Pradeep Srivastava said.

The accused were arrested following an electronic intercept from a parking lot in the city.

Two knives, 20 grams charas and three air pistols were recovered from their possession, he said.

During preliminary interrogation, the trio confessed that they planned to kidnap a youth named Harsh, who had once studied with Gulsher, for ransom money as he belonged to a rich family, Srivastava said.

The accused arrived here from Malaysia after opening a business bank account in Australia so that the ransom money could be deposited in it, he said, adding, one of the two Australian men had a criminal background and had come to India to start drug peddling business in Himachal Pardesh.

They have been booked under the NDPS Act, Arms Act and for kidnapping and conspiracy, and have been remanded to three days of police custody by a local court, police said.